The ECB trumpeted this summer as a feast of cricket for England but dips in form after World Cup success are commonWhen Eoin Morgan said at the end of the World Cup group stage, during a carnival of cricket that would eventually carry his team to glory, that the experience was proving so intense that “I can’t wait to get away from a cricket field”, there will have been many sportsmen who understood precisely what he was feeling. While fans enjoy the remorseless drama of these great competitions, those actually playing them find they exact a psychological and emotional toll.In October 2018, with many of the players who starred in the World Cup in Russia that summer disappointing in the...
Australia’s star batsman is not resting on his laurels after Edgbaston, once again decorating the game he bruised last yearSteve Smith is ruining Test cricket. Like a maverick cop forced off active duty, he has been back only five minutes but is already laying the town to waste. Or at least this is the perception in some parts of the British Isles.Some objections come from the internet eggs that spawn around comment threads, decrying him as a cheat who should never be allowed near a cricket field again – you know, like all the other ball-tamperers who were banned for life rather than being feted as greats of the game with commentary contracts and hall of fame places. Related: Moeen...
The spinner has been dropped after struggling in the first Ashes Test, leaving England with more questions to answer at Lord’sNathan Lyon has not been as vociferous at the start of this Ashes series as he was before the last one in November 2017. There has been no need and maybe there really is a return to the brave old world when Australia respected their opponents. Back in Brisbane two years ago Lyon was the cheerleader on the welcoming committee, talking of English batsmen “running scared”, of a determination to “head-butt the line” and of an Aussie team eager to “end careers”. “I didn’t end any careers,” he said. “Mitchell Johnson ended them.”There is a suggestion that Lyon might just...
Steve Smith and Ben Stokes will understand forgiveness is not just earned by runs and wickets, it is by willingness to rebuild the example you setThe greatest cricketers obsess over their game with a motivation to be the best they can be. They squeeze out every ounce of skill and fitness which helps them approach matches with an unbreakable mentality, knowing every part of preparation has been covered. They throw themselves at every conceivable practice and game scenario to absorb, learn and build experiences to lock away in the memory bank. When they are faced with these situations again they then instinctively know what to do.Away from the playing field, though, I was reminded last week that even the greatest...
Enlist Jofra Archer, limit Joe Root’s options and make better use of Jos Buttler’s brain – how England might turn things roundJoe Root’s England have made a habit of losing one Test in a series. In his collection of home results, Root has a 4-1, a 3-1, a 2-1, a 1-1, and now a 0-1. The only visiting team not to get a Test off him are Ireland, who came close. The good news for the England fan, forever fretful, is that each of these home defeats has been followed by a victory. Related: Australia have a 'clear plan' how to wrap up Ashes series, says Justin Langer Continue reading...